Lowering temperatures below ambient conditions has always been recognised as a way to store fruits and vegetables and keep them fresh by slowing the development of micro-organisms that accelerate their decay.

Until the middle of the XXth century, the only way to achieve this was by carving away ice from lakes and rivers and storing it as best as possible until the following winter cycle.During the post-war boom, refrigeration techniques, starting with compression/expansion cycle refrigeration, became widely used.

However, technological developments did not stop there. New techniques emerged and incremental evolutions appeared in an effort to optimise temperatures, reduce temperature swings and energy consumption. Everything geared towards maintaining a cold chain all the way to the consumer.

The cold chain is central to keeping and transforming food for many reasons. In addition to slowing decay, it has complimentary uses. For example, to sanitise with ozone, lower temperatures imply less ozone production and greater effectiveness.